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Tuesday, August 1, 2006

4.0 Raid Gear guide Archive

I've updated the list to correct some errors, add the random stat gear options and the new Alchemy trinket coming in 4.0.6. I also updated the weights to factor in the change to Total Eclipse. The last change I made was to add a reforging value. I will explain this more later.The Usual Disclaimer Comments:

This list is a tool, not a blueprint for how to gear. I’ve never intended my lists to be the definitive guide on how to gear a raiding moonkin. I don’t want to see any comments anywhere that say “item X is the best because it’s ranked number one on Graylo’s list.”

The use of this list requires some thought. It is a general ranking intended to give you an idea on how items relate to each other. Please realize that these values are estimates based upon a fairly high gear level. Two items with a similar value, can be assumed to be relatively equal. Also, realize that your gear level may be different then the one I used. As a result you may value the stats differently. I highly suggest you look at this post to determine how you value stats. It's a little out of date, but the instructions at the bottem are mostly correct.

It is up to you to manage your Hit cap. Do not take every number one item on the list.

PvP and Healing gear are by definition not good PvE gear for moonkin. As a result I have excluded almost all items that are obviously PvP or healing related from the list. That said there are some exceptions. Healing trinkets that provides Int are included eventhough the proc is clearly healing because Int is such a good stat for moonkin. That said I don't suggest you take these items over a healer who needs it.

None of this is to say you can't or shouldn't use these items in your own set depending on your situation. I exclude them because I like to keep the lists short, and they generally fall at the bottem of the list when comparing gear of a similar ilevel. If you wold like to figure out where they fall please feel free to do the math yourself using the weights I've provided below.

These rankings are purely based upon DPS. Yes, Stamina does have value, but there is no way to directly translate it into DPS.

Procs are particularly hard to quantify. Trinkets and other items that have procs or on use abilities are estimated in the list. However, it is likely that some of them are wrong given that we know very little about some of the procs. I will update them if I can, but I make no guarentees.

Cloth: All cloth gear is excluded from this list. Equipping a single piece of cloth will cause you to lose 5% of your Int. In some very rare situations a cloth item might be better then the leather gear you currently have available to you. However, the gain would still be fairly small, and it's really not worth the effort.

Resto Tier Gear: I have include the Resto Tier gear in the list since Spirit now converts to Spell Hit for Moonkin. However, it will not count towards you Set bonuses. Since Spell Hit is a highly valued stat many of the resto items are ranked higher then the Moonkin Tier. The other cause of this is that the set bonuses are not included in the valuation. Feel free to use a resto tier item, but realize you should use at most one.

Assumptions:

To rank these items I used the following weights Intellect - 1.000 Spellpower - 0.7784, Spirit/Hit Rating - 0.6439, Haste Rating - 0.5266, Crit Rating - 0.2794, Mastery Rating - 0.3676. These are the weights that WrathCalcs spit out for a gear set I created using 359 ilevel gear.

I've added two columns to the rankings. Here are the Explinations of all of the columns.

Natural - Black - This is a simple volume times rate calculation and assumes you can use every stat.

Reforge - Blue - This column adjusts the Natural ranking by reforging Crit or Mastery into Haste or Hit. This column assumes you need the hit, but Haste is given the priority of being reforged to since it can't be capped realistically.

Natural No Hit - Red - Same as the Natural column but excludes any valuation from Hit Rating or Spirit.

Reforge No Hit - Green - This column adjusts the Natural No Hit ranking by reforging Crit or Hit into Haste or Mastery.

I recommend going with the Tier legs here, because they have spirit which you are going ot have a hard time getting once you start getting a full tier set and they factor in to the set bonus. Gale Rouser Leggings of the Undertow are slightly better in terms of pure stats, but don't complete the set bnous. The two with out spirit on them would be significantly better then the tier legs if you don't need the hit, but I don't think many people will be in that situation.

If I was going to pick up a resto tier item, this is the slot I would do it it. You're trading Crit for Spirit and picking up a little more Haste as well. The problem is that the head slot is the most difficult tier item to get. I'm not sure I would want to only have the resto item in this slot when we transition to Tier 12. Shoulders:

The moonkin Tier piece is the clear choice. The resto Tier piece doesn't have spirit on it, as a result I think a lot of resto druids will be going off set here. Letting them have the Scorched Wormling Vest is probably what is best for your group. Hands:

I hope most of you have your Dragonmaw Clan or Wildhammer Clan Rep maxed out already and have the Epic belt. From there the best place to improve your belt slot is by going with on of the random stat belts off of Conclave of the wind. Boots:

The two heroic options are clearly what most people will want, but I bet most of us will be wearing the Fading Violet Sandals for while. They are purchaseable with Valor Points, which we should have a lot of once we buy the available tier gear. Back:

While our choices were limited in the leather slots, they are huge in our non leather slots because we have all the Spirit items to choose from as well as the non spirit items. If you have excess gold Ritssym's Ruminous Drape isn't bad for a world drop. Haunt of the Flies is also a nice Valor Point cloak. Neck:

Since you have been leveling up DC/WC rep for the belt you should also pick up the the Epic neck they provide as well. It's not ideally itemized but it's better then the blue necks available after it's reforged. Trinket:

Take these trinket valuations very lightly. In many cases I don't know what the internal cooldown is on the proc, and had to make an educated guess. I think I was fairly conservative in my estimates but who knows. I do want to make one quick note. Trinkets with a lot of Crit or Mastery may seem unattractive at first. However, several of them have very nice procs, Plus don't for get that you can forge that Crit or Mastery to Haste or Spirit. They can give you quite a bit of flexibility if needed. Rings:

This list is huge. The reason is there are a lot of rings out there and there is a ring with random stats. At the 359 ilevel you can find a lot of rings from nontraditional sources like Archeology, Valor Points, and World drops, plus the ones you can get from raiding. There are fewer options at the heroic level, but there looks to be a lot because of the random stat rings.

The only question I have about this slot is if you can use two of the Planetary Band rings at the same time. The tool tip says they are unique equip, but I don't know if that is for the entire class of ring or if you could use two of them with different stats.

I always thought it was a little unfair that Shaman and Paladins could enchant their shilds and other casters couldn't enchant their off hands. That is no longer true, and significantly shifts the weapon debate in favor of the MH/OH combo. The Apple-Bent Bough was a clear choice for me before epics since it was purchase able with Justice Points. Main Hand:

When it comes to weapons the only thing you should really care about is ilevel, because it predetermines how much Spell Power and Int an item has. For example, The Biting Wind is the worst ranked 345 weapon, but it's only 2% worse then the highest ranked blue weapon. In short, ilevel is king in this slot. Two Handed Weapon:

The nail in the two handed coffin is that there are really no good two handed options. There are a couple of 359 epic staffs, but I'm not sure if the heroic option even exists. If a staff is a clear upgrade then use it, but remember it has to be an overwhelming improvement to make up for the 40 Int enchant you lose on the off hand. In short, avoid staves. Relic:

This choice really comes down to spirit or no spirit. Once you make that choice which one you want is obvious. The only other comment I would make is that even though the Tattooed Eyeball is listed last it's not that much worse then the other options. Given that it is easy to obtain it is a very attractive option.

Notes:Once again, as you can see there are a lot of links and values in this post. It is quite possible that some of them are incorrect. If you find an incorrect link or a valuation just doesn't look right, please let me know so that I can correct it.